Cypress Semiconductor price target raised to $18 from $16 at MKM Partners. MKM Partners analyst Ruben Roy raised his price target on Cypress Semi to $18 and kept his Buy rating after its Analyst Day presentation yesterday. The analyst says the company's focus on Internet of Things and Automotive markets position it for above-market growth rates, with the management presentation offering a "good look into various examples and company specific differentiation" that should support its forecasts. Roy adds that the company's increase in longer-term gross margin forecasts and attractive valuation warrant a price target increase.

As part of its Analyst Day presentation earlier today, Cypress Semiconductor also forecast annualized revenue growth in Auto at 8%-12% and Legacy business down 2% to down 4%. Raises long-term operating margin forecast to over 25% from over 20%. Reference Link

NanoLock Security and Cypress Semiconductor announced the companies are jointly developing flash-based solutions that bring device-level security and management to the automotive and industrial domains. The combination of NanoLock's security and Cypress' Semper NOR Flash devices enables a trusted management platform and secure over-the-air updates for autonomous and connected vehicle electronics units, as well as for smart factories and other Industry 4.0 applications. This is achieved by leveraging the unique compute capabilities of the Semper NOR Flash to create a secured channel, flash to cloud, to protect against overwriting, modification, manipulation, erasure and ransomware attacks on firmware, boot images and system parameters.

Bearish flow noted in Cypress Semiconductor with 5,750 puts trading, or 12x expected. Most active are Jun-19 14 puts and Mar-19 15 puts, with total volume in those strikes near 5,300 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 2.16, while ATM IV is up nearly 5 points on the day. Earnings are expected on April 25th.

Higher call volume in Cypress Semi as shares rally on earnings. The stock up 7% to $14.85 and 3.7K Feb 14 calls trade in the name - sellers appears to be closing positions at that strike, as open interest is 3.9K, the contract is 85c in-the-money after today's move, and trade history shows the bulk of OI opened in the days leading up to the report, including buying for 50 and 55c yesterday. The same calls are being sold at $1 to 1.30 today. 2K Feb 15 calls also traded. Mar 15, Jun 16 and Sep 17 calls are next most actives in Cypress. Total volume lopsided 15:1 at 12K calls and 720 puts. 30-day implied volatility falling 25% to 33 and into the 25th percentile of the one-year range.

Cypress Semiconductor price target cut to $18 from $20 at Craig-Hallum. Craig-Hallum analyst Anthony Stoss reiterated a Buy rating on Cypress Semiconductor but lowered his price target to $18 following the company's quarterly results. In a research note to investors, Stoss says that softness in China is mostly due to trade tensions and FX concerns impacting distributor/customer appetites to maintain inventory, but believes that could lead to a nice rebound in orders/demand if trade issues are resolved.